It’s easy to overcomplicate one’s understand of what it takes to inspire somebody. But really, it’s quite simple: small bits of encouragement build up into something big. You don't need an entire marching band to inspire people (although it would be neat if you had one.)

Today, for example, I walked across the street to get a coffee and left feeling inspired. The people making and serving me the Americano I ordered were having an evidently good time at work, and they invited me into the fun — to the extent that one worker invited me to join her in calling another worker ‘Joe Pesci,’ which to me, is nothing short of hilarious.

They made fun of me. I made fun of them. I left feeling encouraged and inspired.

So I think sometimes we avoid going out of our way to inspire people because we view it as this mammoth thing. But what if we changed our perspective on that? What if we viewed inspiration as small bits of action that build up into something mammoth?